Eye of storm 15 miles east of New Orleans. Sustained winds in the CBD in the 80's gusts over 100. Higher in the east. Funnel effect plus breaks in the MrGo, Arpent and Industrial canal levees assures flooding of the east including St Bernard, Plaquemines, New Orleans east and the lower Ninth Ward.

Pictured here you can see the storm surge topping the Intercoastal Waterway levee at Michoud and pouring into New Orleans East. This is part of the first flood driven up Mr GO and across Lake Borgne through the "funnel" and into the city.

As the water tops the levee it scours away the land on the "dry" side creating a crevasse or total failure of the levee.

There are reports that as the winds began dying down at about 9:00 am residents of Arabi, the community due south of the spot in the picture, were beginning to step outside thinking the worst was over. A few minutes later when the Industrial Canal levees failed along Tennessee Street water poured across the railroad tracks from the Lower Ninth Ward of Orleans into Arabi climbing to over ten feet in spots. this report doesn't quite match the main chronology and needs confirmation.